Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 39 on 23/06/2008.

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A day in the life of a crofter

David Fleetwood examines one of Scotland's most traditional ocupations.

The sign by the track warns passers-by to beware of the animals, and, looking up towards the long low house set amidst a collection of machinery, goats, sheep and chickens, it is easy to see why.

What appears to be a chaotic smallholding is, in fact, a croft. This method of managing and using the land has been a way of life in Scotland for more than 200 years, and despite the well-documented decline in the population of the Highlands and Islands throughout the Clearances and the 20th and 21st centuries, crofting is still a way of life for many people.

There are some 17,778 crofts registered in Scotland today, many on marginal land in remote Highland glens and on Hebridean shores. Earning a living in such a way has always required the ability to innovate and hold down a number of jobs in addition to tending to crops and livestock.

Historically, land in Scotland was administered through the clan system with a central feudal overlord and various tiers of social hierarchy beneath. The decline of this pattern of land ownership was closely linked to the destruction of the traditional clan system after the defeat of the Jacobite rising.

Once the feudal system had been dismantled, it became clear that the land could not support the population it had previously, due mostly to the excessive subdivision of landholdings. The remaining landowners also began to change their attitude to the landscape; they wanted to extract maximum profit from their land and so implemented ideas for imp.....

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By David Fleetwood

Section : Scotland Traditions

Page number : 60